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Review: Losing Control (2012)
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Mark R. Leeper
Apr 6, 2012, 9:21:17 PM4/6/12
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LOSING CONTROL
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: LOSING CONTROL is an amiable, if uneven
comedy, mixing real science, scientific method, and
the modern dating scene with a little bit of sex
(never shown). A Harvard science genius decides to
use scientific method to determine if she really wants
to marry her boyfriend of five years. Writer Valerie
Weiss's script lets down director Valerie Weiss with
plot inconsistencies and an uneven feel. The tone and
pacing and even the characters are inconsistent, but
still writer/director Valerie Weiss gives the film
some wit, some humorous situations, and a refreshing
dash of real science. Rating: low +1 (-4 to +4) or
5/10
Since she was a little girl Samantha Bazarick (played by Miranda
Kent) has wanted to be a scientist. Sam has the smarts and the
attitude of a big talent. And she has a whole live plan written on
paper as a flow chart. Now she is going for her Ph.D. as a
biologist at Harvard. Once her current experiment succeeds she
will get her degree and will marry Ben (Reid Scott), her boy friend
of five years. But neither plan is working out. She is unable to
replicate a major discovery she made years ago. That was a
chemical that will destroy only male sperm and hence block male-
chromosome linked diseases while sparing female sperm. She had the
drug, dubbed Y-Kill, at one time, but is unable to reproduce it.
Also, she is unsure that her boyfriend is her ideal mate. She
wants to follow a scientific methodology to experiment with having
one-night-stands with other men so she can determine with empirical
proof whether or not Ben is really her best choice of husband.
For two acts the film is a romantic comedy and meets the aspiration
to be agreeable. Somewhat jarringly in the third act it turns into
a thriller with a villain and a plan more serious than just
romantic tactics. The humor is scattershot with some humorous
dialog, some of the humor is raunchy, and some action verges on
slapstick. There are character inconsistencies. Samantha's mother
early on is opposed to Samantha's interest in Ben. Without any
explanation in the script she changes sides and wants the marriage.
While Samantha seems likeable even if a little neurotic, the men
she dates are all wacky and off the wall and unbelievable
caricatures. I will not go into detail about how off the wall they
really are. That gets into some of the raunchy aspects of the
film. When Samantha goes dating, she wears a silly-looking hat
flashing electric lights in the shape of a Jewish star that her
mother convinced her to wear, but she seems oblivious as to how
stupid the hat looks. Speaking of electricity, for a film that is
showing respect for science, when Samantha needs a little bit of
electricity toward the end of the film, she gets it from a source
that make no sense scientifically. (If I am wrong about that,
somebody correct me.) The film is mostly light, so it is somewhat
surprising that it takes some unexpected jabs at the Chinese
government and at Chinese in educational programs in the United
States.
Director and writer Valerie Weiss actually is a biophysicist who
herself was a Ph.D. candidate from Harvard. The publicity says
that some of the plot was based on Weiss's own experiences.
Further this is the first film ever to be shot on Harvard's campus,
though with the exception of a few laboratory scenes and maybe one
or two exteriors, the film takes little advantage of its shooting
location.
Running the entire gamut from charming to (arguably) offensive, the
screenplay is a really mixed bag. I found myself coming away from
the film generally positive, but on consideration the script really
needed a few more drafts. I applaud the use of real science in
films but that and Miranda Kent's charm are still not enough to
overcome problems in the writing. I rate LOSNG CONTROL overall a
low +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 5/10.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1511425/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/losing_control_2011/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
LOSING CONTROL
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: LOSING CONTROL is an amiable, if uneven
comedy, mixing real science, scientific method, and
the modern dating scene with a little bit of sex
(never shown). A Harvard science genius decides to
use scientific method to determine if she really wants
to marry her boyfriend of five years. Writer Valerie
Weiss's script lets down director Valerie Weiss with
plot inconsistencies and an uneven feel. The tone and
pacing and even the characters are inconsistent, but
still writer/director Valerie Weiss gives the film
some wit, some humorous situations, and a refreshing
dash of real science. Rating: low +1 (-4 to +4) or
5/10
Since she was a little girl Samantha Bazarick (played by Miranda
Kent) has wanted to be a scientist. Sam has the smarts and the
attitude of a big talent. And she has a whole live plan written on
paper as a flow chart. Now she is going for her Ph.D. as a
biologist at Harvard. Once her current experiment succeeds she
will get her degree and will marry Ben (Reid Scott), her boy friend
of five years. But neither plan is working out. She is unable to
replicate a major discovery she made years ago. That was a
chemical that will destroy only male sperm and hence block male-
chromosome linked diseases while sparing female sperm. She had the
drug, dubbed Y-Kill, at one time, but is unable to reproduce it.
Also, she is unsure that her boyfriend is her ideal mate. She
wants to follow a scientific methodology to experiment with having
one-night-stands with other men so she can determine with empirical
proof whether or not Ben is really her best choice of husband.
For two acts the film is a romantic comedy and meets the aspiration
to be agreeable. Somewhat jarringly in the third act it turns into
a thriller with a villain and a plan more serious than just
romantic tactics. The humor is scattershot with some humorous
dialog, some of the humor is raunchy, and some action verges on
slapstick. There are character inconsistencies. Samantha's mother
early on is opposed to Samantha's interest in Ben. Without any
explanation in the script she changes sides and wants the marriage.
While Samantha seems likeable even if a little neurotic, the men
she dates are all wacky and off the wall and unbelievable
caricatures. I will not go into detail about how off the wall they
really are. That gets into some of the raunchy aspects of the
film. When Samantha goes dating, she wears a silly-looking hat
flashing electric lights in the shape of a Jewish star that her
mother convinced her to wear, but she seems oblivious as to how
stupid the hat looks. Speaking of electricity, for a film that is
showing respect for science, when Samantha needs a little bit of
electricity toward the end of the film, she gets it from a source
that make no sense scientifically. (If I am wrong about that,
somebody correct me.) The film is mostly light, so it is somewhat
surprising that it takes some unexpected jabs at the Chinese
government and at Chinese in educational programs in the United
States.
Director and writer Valerie Weiss actually is a biophysicist who
herself was a Ph.D. candidate from Harvard. The publicity says
that some of the plot was based on Weiss's own experiences.
Further this is the first film ever to be shot on Harvard's campus,
though with the exception of a few laboratory scenes and maybe one
or two exteriors, the film takes little advantage of its shooting
location.
Running the entire gamut from charming to (arguably) offensive, the
screenplay is a really mixed bag. I found myself coming away from
the film generally positive, but on consideration the script really
needed a few more drafts. I applaud the use of real science in
films but that and Miranda Kent's charm are still not enough to
overcome problems in the writing. I rate LOSNG CONTROL overall a
low +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 5/10.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1511425/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/losing_control_2011/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: LOSING CONTROL is an amiable, if uneven
comedy, mixing real science, scientific method, and
the modern dating scene with a little bit of sex
(never shown). A Harvard science genius decides to
use scientific method to determine if she really wants
to marry her boyfriend of five years. Writer Valerie
Weiss's script lets down director Valerie Weiss with
plot inconsistencies and an uneven feel. The tone and
pacing and even the characters are inconsistent, but
still writer/director Valerie Weiss gives the film
some wit, some humorous situations, and a refreshing
dash of real science. Rating: low +1 (-4 to +4) or
5/10
Since she was a little girl Samantha Bazarick (played by Miranda
Kent) has wanted to be a scientist. Sam has the smarts and the
attitude of a big talent. And she has a whole live plan written on
paper as a flow chart. Now she is going for her Ph.D. as a
biologist at Harvard. Once her current experiment succeeds she
will get her degree and will marry Ben (Reid Scott), her boy friend
of five years. But neither plan is working out. She is unable to
replicate a major discovery she made years ago. That was a
chemical that will destroy only male sperm and hence block male-
chromosome linked diseases while sparing female sperm. She had the
drug, dubbed Y-Kill, at one time, but is unable to reproduce it.
Also, she is unsure that her boyfriend is her ideal mate. She
wants to follow a scientific methodology to experiment with having
one-night-stands with other men so she can determine with empirical
proof whether or not Ben is really her best choice of husband.
For two acts the film is a romantic comedy and meets the aspiration
to be agreeable. Somewhat jarringly in the third act it turns into
a thriller with a villain and a plan more serious than just
romantic tactics. The humor is scattershot with some humorous
dialog, some of the humor is raunchy, and some action verges on
slapstick. There are character inconsistencies. Samantha's mother
early on is opposed to Samantha's interest in Ben. Without any
explanation in the script she changes sides and wants the marriage.
While Samantha seems likeable even if a little neurotic, the men
she dates are all wacky and off the wall and unbelievable
caricatures. I will not go into detail about how off the wall they
really are. That gets into some of the raunchy aspects of the
film. When Samantha goes dating, she wears a silly-looking hat
flashing electric lights in the shape of a Jewish star that her
mother convinced her to wear, but she seems oblivious as to how
stupid the hat looks. Speaking of electricity, for a film that is
showing respect for science, when Samantha needs a little bit of
electricity toward the end of the film, she gets it from a source
that make no sense scientifically. (If I am wrong about that,
somebody correct me.) The film is mostly light, so it is somewhat
surprising that it takes some unexpected jabs at the Chinese
government and at Chinese in educational programs in the United
States.
Director and writer Valerie Weiss actually is a biophysicist who
herself was a Ph.D. candidate from Harvard. The publicity says
that some of the plot was based on Weiss's own experiences.
Further this is the first film ever to be shot on Harvard's campus,
though with the exception of a few laboratory scenes and maybe one
or two exteriors, the film takes little advantage of its shooting
location.
Running the entire gamut from charming to (arguably) offensive, the
screenplay is a really mixed bag. I found myself coming away from
the film generally positive, but on consideration the script really
needed a few more drafts. I applaud the use of real science in
films but that and Miranda Kent's charm are still not enough to
overcome problems in the writing. I rate LOSNG CONTROL overall a
low +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 5/10.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1511425/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/losing_control_2011/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
LOSING CONTROL
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: LOSING CONTROL is an amiable, if uneven
comedy, mixing real science, scientific method, and
the modern dating scene with a little bit of sex
(never shown). A Harvard science genius decides to
use scientific method to determine if she really wants
to marry her boyfriend of five years. Writer Valerie
Weiss's script lets down director Valerie Weiss with
plot inconsistencies and an uneven feel. The tone and
pacing and even the characters are inconsistent, but
still writer/director Valerie Weiss gives the film
some wit, some humorous situations, and a refreshing
dash of real science. Rating: low +1 (-4 to +4) or
5/10
Since she was a little girl Samantha Bazarick (played by Miranda
Kent) has wanted to be a scientist. Sam has the smarts and the
attitude of a big talent. And she has a whole live plan written on
paper as a flow chart. Now she is going for her Ph.D. as a
biologist at Harvard. Once her current experiment succeeds she
will get her degree and will marry Ben (Reid Scott), her boy friend
of five years. But neither plan is working out. She is unable to
replicate a major discovery she made years ago. That was a
chemical that will destroy only male sperm and hence block male-
chromosome linked diseases while sparing female sperm. She had the
drug, dubbed Y-Kill, at one time, but is unable to reproduce it.
Also, she is unsure that her boyfriend is her ideal mate. She
wants to follow a scientific methodology to experiment with having
one-night-stands with other men so she can determine with empirical
proof whether or not Ben is really her best choice of husband.
For two acts the film is a romantic comedy and meets the aspiration
to be agreeable. Somewhat jarringly in the third act it turns into
a thriller with a villain and a plan more serious than just
romantic tactics. The humor is scattershot with some humorous
dialog, some of the humor is raunchy, and some action verges on
slapstick. There are character inconsistencies. Samantha's mother
early on is opposed to Samantha's interest in Ben. Without any
explanation in the script she changes sides and wants the marriage.
While Samantha seems likeable even if a little neurotic, the men
she dates are all wacky and off the wall and unbelievable
caricatures. I will not go into detail about how off the wall they
really are. That gets into some of the raunchy aspects of the
film. When Samantha goes dating, she wears a silly-looking hat
flashing electric lights in the shape of a Jewish star that her
mother convinced her to wear, but she seems oblivious as to how
stupid the hat looks. Speaking of electricity, for a film that is
showing respect for science, when Samantha needs a little bit of
electricity toward the end of the film, she gets it from a source
that make no sense scientifically. (If I am wrong about that,
somebody correct me.) The film is mostly light, so it is somewhat
surprising that it takes some unexpected jabs at the Chinese
government and at Chinese in educational programs in the United
States.
Director and writer Valerie Weiss actually is a biophysicist who
herself was a Ph.D. candidate from Harvard. The publicity says
that some of the plot was based on Weiss's own experiences.
Further this is the first film ever to be shot on Harvard's campus,
though with the exception of a few laboratory scenes and maybe one
or two exteriors, the film takes little advantage of its shooting
location.
Running the entire gamut from charming to (arguably) offensive, the
screenplay is a really mixed bag. I found myself coming away from
the film generally positive, but on consideration the script really
needed a few more drafts. I applaud the use of real science in
films but that and Miranda Kent's charm are still not enough to
overcome problems in the writing. I rate LOSNG CONTROL overall a
low +1 on the -4 to +4 scale or 5/10.
Film Credits: <http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1511425/>
What others are saying:
<http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/losing_control_2011/>
Mark R. Leeper
mle...@optonline.net
Copyright 2012 Mark R. Leeper
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